Our former home of Ardmore Pennsylvania is listed in this article as the #1 best liberal place to live in America. I’d like to believe that I played at least a tiny role in creating and maintaining this great place. This is where I coached multiple kids sports teams, built relationships with hundreds of families, opened a five person financial planning office, met weekly with Ardmore Rotary, where our kids went to the outstanding Lower Merion schools, and where I worked in service, support, and in leadership of many community organizations. It started 32 years ago when I closed a business and sold a home we loved in Doylestown PA and moved back to Ardmore and Lower Merion School District when it came time to raise a family. It was difficult and expensive in terms of lost income, but I now see it as the best decision of my life. Our kids are thriving from this privileged upbringing of community support and I think that is the highest measure of success that any parent can aspire.
We moved away from that neighborhood four years ago to the opposite type of community in rural South Jersey after the youngest finished college. My life, my business, and personal relationships have been more difficult since then. Friends and family comments published in the 2019 book “The Drowning of Money Island” call out this move away from Ardmore as a major life mistake. I do miss my old community, friends and mentors, I recognize the difficulties that I have caused by this decision, but I am now committed to a life in rural South Jersey despite the loss of community support. It’s not about what is best for me as an individual but where there is the greatest societal need for my unique skills. Of course, not everyone outside of Ardmore sees it that way. I have a vision of building friendships and stronger supportive community relationships here in South Jersey and am committed to working toward that goal each day. Sadly, my closest South Jersey friends and clients died during the last few Covid years so it now feels like starting over once again.
I don’t expect to change the culture of my new community here, but just hope to rebuild a some of the warm type of friendships and community support that we enjoyed back in Ardmore.